Shot shell wad



July 26, 1966 c BECKER ET AL SHOT SHELL WAD Filed April 6, 1964 INVENTORCLARENCE J.BECKER JOHN J. FABER BY m ATTORNEY 3,262,392 SHOT SHELL WADClarence J. Becker, Chalbourn Road, Vestal, N.Y., and

John J. Faber, 705 Irving Ave., Endicott, N.Y. Filed Apr. 6, 1964, Ser.No. 357,529 3 Claims. (Cl. 102-95) This invention relates to shotguncartridges, and more particularly, to improvements in wad columnstherefor.

Wad columns, which in a shell separate the propellent powder from theshot mass, have been used in various forms. The purpose of the wad istwofold. First it must provide a gas seal, preventing leakage through itas well as around it, as it is being propelled by the gas pressurebehind it. It must also have elastic properties in order to produce acushioning effect against the sudden impact of the enormous forcegenerated by the explosive charge, thus allowing a gradual accelerationof the shot from the shell. Unless the wad column has' adequatecompressibility to enable expansion of the gas prior to and during themovement of the shot charge, the pressure produced by the suddengeneration of gas would produce undesirable effects, manifested inparticular by the strong recoil of the gun.

The above dual functions of the wad appear incompat'ible. To prevent gasleakage requires a solid barrel sealing substance, whereas to preventexcessive peak pressure necessitates a highly compressible medium.Various attempts have been made, heretofore, to provide wad columnsconsisting of portions made up of different materials having the desiredproperties which had to be assembled in the body of the shell. Wadcolumns made of plastic materials such as polyethylene and molded insuch manner as to have some elastic portion have been used in order toobtain the desired sealing strength and also the cushioning effect.

The drawback of composite wads and resilient member structures ismanifested in uneven distribution of the gas pressure, resulting aWobbling of the shot, as well as gas leakage due to the deforming of thecushioning material.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide a wad columnwhich is firm enough to hold its shape at the pressure to which it issubjected and thus prevent gas leakage.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a plastic wad columnwhich when compressed by the explosive charge maintains axial alignment.

A particular feature of the invention resides in the structuralconfiguration of the wad column which may easily be produced fromplastic materials such as polyethylene, by simple molding operationrequiring no further assembling.

Other objects and features will be apparent from the followingdescription of the invention, pointed out in particularity in theappended claims and taken in connection with the accompanying drawingwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, in perspective, of a loaded shell,partially cut away, showing the disposition of the wad column.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the wad column.

FIG. 3 is a partial view thereof as it appears in a compressed state,and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the wad column.

Referring to the drawing, the wad column 5 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4comprises an upper, shot-supporting portion or section 6 and a loweroverpowder portion or section 7, separated by an elastic cushion member8. The latter may be shaped, in the manner shown, as a foldable,accordion-like body, the walls of which define a centrally locatedopening 9 extending transverse to the axis of the wad column 5. Cushionmember 8 will be I United States Patent 0 seen to comprise a pair ofre-entrant or partially-folded members which fold in opposite directionson opposite sides of the cylindrical axis of the wad. An importantfeature of the wad is that the sidewise forces caused by compression ofthe. two portions of cushion member 8 oppose and cancel each other, sothat axial compression of the wad does not cause a relative sidewiseforce between the upper and lower wad portions.

Both, the upper and the lower wad portions 6 and 7, are of a cylindricalconfiguration having the required diameter to fit snugly in the shell11, as seen in FIG. 1. The upper portion 6 supports the shot load 12 andmay have an axially extending wall 14 forming a cup or container for theshot load. .This is generally slotted as at 15 so as to loosely envelopthe shot pellets, its purpose being the convenience of loading the shelland also aiding in the formation of the shot pattern. It is to be notedthat the shot cup is not a material portion of the wad column 5 and maybe omitted if desired without in any way losing the advantages of thewad column structure per se.

The upper wad portion 6 has downwardly extending lips 17 and 17' theinner faces 18 and 18' of which form a cup or dished out recess for themass of the elastic cushioning member 8 when the wad is compressed aswill be described later. Lips 17 and 17' also form a secondary upper orouter gas seal. Any pressure which escapes past the first seal formed bythe lips of lower wad portion 7 will be seen to tend to expand lips 17,17.

The lips 17 and 17' have another important function, namely, to engage aportion of the side of the lower wad section 7 upon compression of thewad column. This is illustrated in FIG. 3,- which is an explanatoryview, showing also the infolding of the elastic member 8. It is to benoted that, in effect, the overpowder wad portion 7 telescopes betweenthe projections or lips 17 and 17. For this purpose the body of the wadportion 7 is slightly tapered to allow for the clamping between theprojections 17 and 17'. By this action, axial alignment of the wadportions is assured and maintained as the wad is propelled from theshell and passes through the bore of the gun barrel. Wobbling andsidewise deformation of the wad is thus prevented which, in compositewad structures, has been a serious drawback, resulting in gas leakage aswell as unreliable shot pattern formation.

It is important also that the force of the explosive charge be uniformlydistributed at the surface of impact, namely at the inner face of theoverpowder wad portion 7. In accordance with the present invention thereis provided on the under side of the base of the wad portion 7 anannular downward extension 20, in the form of a cup,

having a conical inner surface 21 the apex of which is directly at thecenter line or axis of the wad column 5. Moreover, the inner side of thewad portion 7 is of concave configuration having a tapered wall to allowradial expansion upon pressure of the explosive charge and thus increasethe sealing function. A further gas seal is provided by transversegrooves 22 and 22' placed in the wall of the wad column at the junctionof the attachment of elastic member 8.

When the powder charge, placed at the bottom shell 11, as seen in FIG.1, is ignited, the expanding gas'exerts the propellent force against theunder face of the wad portion 7 tending to expand the side wall thereofwhich further insures the sealing action. The conical surface 21 of thecup shaped extension 20 contributes materially in centering the impactin the axial direction. Due to the enormous force the wad column 5collapses as it leaves the shell 11, thus cushioning the impact andlessening the recoil of the gun. The telescoped portions 6 and 7 of thewad column are locked by the lips 17 and 17' as seen in FIG. 3.maintaining thereby axial alignment 3 of the .Wad column as it passesthrough the gun barrel so that the propellent force is evenlydistributed at the seat of the shot pellets. The shot pattern obtainedis thus uniform at every discharge of the gun.

What is claimed is:

1. A one piece cylindrical wad column for shotgun shells comprising alower generally cylindrical overpowder section and an upper generallycylindrical shot supporting section spaced therefrom, said shotsupporting section comprising a generally tubular portion having a diskshaped closure closing one end thereof, said closure 4 2. A wad columnin accordance with claim 1 wherein the inner members each have are-entrant folded shape so as to bend outwardly during expulsion.

3. A wad column in accordance with claim 1 wherein said outer lipmembers being tapered to have base portions adjacent said upper sectionwhich are thicker and less flexible than said inner members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,217,648 11/1965Foote et al. 102-42 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,116,967 2/ 1956 France. 1,141,5403/1957 France. 1,274,483 9/ 1961 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Trap and Field, vol. 139, No. 5, May 1963, pp. 3638.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

' R. F. STAHL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A ONE PIECE CYLINDRICAL WAD COLUMN FOR SHOTGUN SHELLS COMPRISING ALOWER GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL OVERPOWDER SECTION AND AN UPPER GENERALLYCYLINDRICAL SHOT SUPPORTING SECTION SPACED THEREFROM, SAID SHOTSUPPORTING SECTION COMPRISING A GENERALLY TUBULAR PORTION HAVING A DISKSHAPED CLOSURE CLOSING ONE END THEREOF, SAID CLOSURE HAVING A PAIR OFOUTER LIP MEMBERS EXTENDING FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CLOSURE TOWARDSAID LOWER SECTION AND BEING SPACED THEREFROM, AN ELASTIC INTERMEDIATEPORTION HAVING A PAIR OF RESILIENT INNER MEMBERS, SPACED RADIALLYINWARDLY FROM SAID LIPS AND EXTENDING BETWEEN AND CONNECTING SAIDCLOSURE WITH SAID LOWER SECTION, SAID LOWER SECTION HAVING PORTIONSTHEREOF BEING LESSER AND GREATER IN DIAMETER THAN THE TRANSVERSEDISTANCE BETWEEN SAID LIP MEMBERS, SAID LOWER SECTION UPON BEINGEXPELLED FROM A CARTRIDGE CASING COMPRESSING SAID RESILIENT MEMBERS ANDPARTIALLY TELESCOPING AND EXPANDING SAID OUTER LIP MEMBERS.